A new report from ID5, Building Addressability into the CTV Ecosystem, explores the major challenges and opportunities relating to addressability in CTV advertising. [Partnered post]
Those unfamiliar with the CTV advertising ecosystem might assume that addressability isn’t too much of an issue for CTV campaigns. Unlike on web browsers, a lot of media consumption in CTV environments happens through channels where users have to log in to watch content.
But the reality is much more complex. Streaming services vary significantly in which types of data they share with their partners. They also have to abide by rules set by the smart TVs and CTV platforms which distribute their services, which also vary from platform to platform. And not all streaming services require viewers to sign up — for example many free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels don’t require users to register before they start viewing.
As a result, addressability is a major challenge for CTV advertising. Addressability is key for powering accurate targeting, measurement, and attribution, which are all necessary to help marketers confidently invest in CTV. Total CTV ad spend is growing rapidly, and is projected by eMarketer to pass $3.73 billion in 2028. But a recent survey from ID5 found that 80 percent of respondents believed CTV needs a better addressability framework.
To help navigate this topic, ID5 has released a new guide, ‘Building Addressability into the CTV Ecosystem‘, which explains the major challenges and opportunities when it comes to addressability in CTV. The guide features insights from experts across the industry, including Domenic Venuto, EVP, Chief of Product & Data at Horizon Media, Ana Milicevic, Co-Founder of Sparrow Advisers, Andrea Kwiatek, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Goodway Group, and Mark Douglas, CEO of MNTN.
Topics covered in the guide include:
Roadblocks to CTV Addressability
Fragmentation is often portrayed as a negative in the advertising world, but in some senses it’s a positive thing. Fragmentation is the result of competition between hardware manufacturers and between streaming services, which drives innovation and ultimately benefits audiences and advertisers. But where transparency and standardisation are lacking, fragmentation becomes a headache for marketers.
As the guide explains, fragmentation isn’t the only issue. While CTV advertising isn’t impacted by restrictions to third-party cookies or mobile advertising identifiers, we have seen moves by some of the tech giants to restrict access to IP addresses, a commonly used (if imperfect) signal in CTV campaigns. Meanwhile, data protection laws continue to develop across Europe and America, and some data protection authorities have taken a hard line against the use of personal data in CTV advertising.
As Building Addressability into the CTV Ecosystem explains, these factors make it harder to target and measure CTV campaigns, hampering efforts from CTV businesses to compete for performance budgets.
The Technologies Helping Navigate Fragmentation
Progress is already being made to solve these issues, and the guide lays out the technologies which are commonly being used to bring clarity to the fragmented marketplace.
The guide explains the role of universal identifiers (or alternative IDs) in CTV campaigns, looking at which problems they help solve, and how they fit into the ways buyers typically purchase CTV inventory. It also outlines use cases for identity graphs, and how they work alongside universal identifiers to enable ad targeting and measurement.
Emerging and Future Opportunities for Data-Driven CTV
Looking ahead, the guide charts some of the emerging opportunities relating to data and identity in CTV. These include the integration of retail data into CTV campaigns and the growth of moment-based targeting, where real-time purchase and search data can be used to inform campaign targeting.
ID5’s guide Building Addressability into the CTV Ecosystem is now available to download.
Follow VideoWeek on LinkedIn.
